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I received a phone call from my friend Fish. Fish is one of the 24/7 occupiers, and arguably the most dedicated. He called me around midnight and said that the police were harassing the occupiers, and were threatening to make arrests at some point that night. They wouldn’t say when or why, just that there would be arrests. Keep in mind that traditionally arrests warrant charges. Anywhere else in San Diego, police generally cannot arrest people “just because”. This does not apply at Occupy San Diego.

When Fish called me I felt sick to my stomach, racked with guilt about not being there. It was a cold night and I had work in the morning. I have spent countless nights sleeping at Civic Center, but haven’t slept there since the second raid when the Occupiers were forced out onto the grassy knoll by 3rd street. I chose not to drive 30 minutes to Civic Center to watch my friends be arrested. I spent time thinking about all of the arrests I had seen over the past two months. I impulsively started my hunger strike about an hour after Fish called me, and an hour before he was arrested with 8 other people.

Basically 9 people were arrested this night “just because”. The awake demonstrators did not have tents. They were arrested for illegal lodging. There are no hours in which peacefully assembly, our first amendment right, is “allowed” and “not allowed”. The right to peacefully assemble is permanent. Except in Civic Center. This is not a very high quality video, however it does show the ridiculous amount of cops your tax dollars paid for, to conduct a planned raid on our first amendment rights. Watch the video here:

Please note that the police officers will not respond to the question “Why am I being detained?”. Why were these 9 Occupy San Diego demonstrators detained and arrested?

On a happier note I saw two of the people arrested tonight, Bear and Mark. They were released from San Diego County Jail and immediately returned to Civic Center to rejoin the Occupation. When I left tonight they were still there. To that, I say this: